Traditional and modern food and drink from Georgia and the Caucasus

Events

Georgian wines have been making their way onto wine lists at some of DC’s trendiest restaurants lately, but the wines themselves are anything but faddish. Georgia is home to the world’s oldest continuous winemaking tradition, stretching back more than 7,000 years. Its most talented vintners are making natural wines using native grapes and ancient fermentation methods that yield complex flavors you won’t find elsewhere.

Join Wendy Stuart of Food Works Group and Jenny Holm of The Georgian Table for a guided tasting and discover the fascinating stories behind these one-of-a-kind wines.

Let’s cook, eat, and toast together in December! I’m offering a Georgian cooking class and wine dinner for 10 people at a private home in northwest DC. I have one spot left! The event is now full, but submit your details below to put yourself on the waitlist. I will notify you via e-mail if a spot opens up.

Thanks to Whitney Pipkin, who took this picture at a dinner I prepared along with Wendy Stuart of Food Works Group. The photo was also featured in the Washington Post (Mar. 3, 2015).

I’ll teach you how to make three classic Georgian dishes (including Ajaran khachapuri), then we’ll all sit down to devour the fruits of our labor (plus a few of my own) over Georgian wine and conversation. I’ll provide enough wine for approximately two glasses a person, but you’re welcome to bring a bottle of your own to share with the group if you like.

Sunday, Dec. 13 5:30-8:30 pm $75 per person Address will be sent after ticket purchase

PLEASE NOTE: Your reservation is confirmed only once your payment has been processed. (I will notify you when this happens.) If you need to cancel your reservation, please notify me as far in advance as possible. I can only provide a refund if I am able to fill your spot(s) with others. This is purely to recoup my costs, as several seats for this event were donated through silent auctions to support Tbilisi flood relief efforts and educational exchange programs between the US and Georgia.

We had a great time cooking at YMCA Anthony Bowen last month. If you missed it last time around, sign up for my November class. We’ll make Ajaran khachapuri (a perfect stick-to-your-bones dish for fall and winter) and two other Georgian dishes. (Got favorites? I’m taking suggestions for another day or two!)

Monday, November 16, 7-9 pm
YMCA Anthony Bowen (1325 W St. NW, Washington, DC)
$30 for YMCA members, $40 for non-membersRegister here
(Click the login link at the top right of the page and quickly create an account if you don’t already have one with the YMCA)

Join me in the kitchen at the YMCA Anthony Bowen on 14th St. and W St. NW in Washington, DC for a Georgian cooking class featuring Ajaran khachapuri (the kind with the egg in the middle) and two other classic dishes.

Thursday, Oct. 15, 7-9 pm
YMCA Anthony Bowen, 1325 W St. NW, Washington, DC
$30 for YMCA members, $40 for non-membersRegister here(Click the login link at the top right of the page and quickly create an account if you don’t already have one with the YMCA)

This YMCA has a beautiful kitchen where we’ll be cooking and eating. They do not have a license to serve alcohol, so this class will not include wine. If you can’t make this date or want to wait for an in-home class where wine will be served, have no fear–there’s more where that came from soon. You can subscribe to my e-mail list here to be among the first to receive notifications about upcoming classes and events.

I’m teaming up with chef Marina Berger of Salt and Pomegranates supper club to host a family-style Georgian supra (feast meal) in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY on 7 pm on Saturday, Aug. 22. We’d love for you to join us and other lovers of Georgian food, wine, and culture!

Selection of Georgian WinesBeverage
Georgia boasts one of the world’s oldest wine-making traditions. We’ll offer a selection of Georgian wines fermented in the traditional style–with the grape skins and stems in clay vessels, called qvevri, that are buried underground where the temperature remains constant.

AchmaSmall Plate
Somewhere between a sauceless lasagna and a savory noodle kugel, this dish is made from sheets of homemade egg noodles, layered with butter and a blend of Georgian sulguni cheese and crumbled Bulgarian feta. Baked to create a crispy golden crust, with a creamy, cheesy filling.

KadaDessert
Kada is one of the few traditional Georgian desserts. It is a flaky, buttery strudel-like pastry whose filling derives its rich, nutty flavor from toasted flour mixed with butter and sugar.

Peach Sorbet/Walnut Ice Cream DuoDessert
Inspired by the fabulous fruit of Georgia: a scoop of summer peach sorbet made with Georgian wine accompanied by a scoop of rich, homemade walnut ice cream.

About Marina: “As the daughter of Soviet immigrants, I grew up eating dishes from all the former republics without knowing anything about their origins. When I realized that some of my favorite “Russian” dishes were actually from Georgia, I decided to dig deep into this rich culinary tradition with my supper club, Salt & Pomegranates. I decided to take the plunge and go to culinary school. I graduated from The Natural Gourmet Institute in 2009, and have been working as Personal Chef in New York City ever since.”

We’d love your help getting the word out about the event, so please do share this post with others you know who might be interested in attending.

I’m excited to announce that sign-up is open for my first public Georgian cooking class! I’ll teach participants how to make several classic Georgian dishes from scratch over wine and appetizers. At the end of the evening, we’ll sit down together to devour the fruits of our labor.

The Georgian Table is hosting its first public event! I’ve teamed up with Wendy Stuart from Food Works Group consultancy to organize Khachapuri and Beyond: Flavors from the Other Georgia, a celebration of Georgian food and wine. Wendy and I traveled together in Georgia this past October and we are thrilled to be able to give DC denizens the opportunity to try some of the sumptuous flavors that define this country for us.

If you’re in the area, get your tickets now and join us on Friday, April 24 at Mess Hall, a new culinary incubator in the Brookland neighborhood of northeast DC. We’ll be serving unlimited wine and passed appetizers all evening, including (but not limited to!) decadent Megrelian khachapuri, spiced meatballs with pomegranate glaze, spinach pkhali, and fried eggplant with walnut-garlic sauce (as featured in the Washington Postlast month).

Our friends at Georgian Wine House will be pouring Georgian white, red, and amber wines and will lead a guided tasting of five premium wines made in the traditional qvevri style at an additional charge. (Click here to purchase a ticket that includes this additional tasting.) We’ll also enjoy a surprise cultural interlude with special local guests.